Emer- Celtic FigureMortal

The Wooing of Emer

Emer was the daughter of Forgall Monach, a powerful chieftain, and was renowned for possessing the six gifts of womanhood, beauty and wisdom chief among them. When the young Cú Chulainn came to Forgall's stronghold at Luglochta Loga seeking a wife, he and Emer spoke in riddles, each testing the other's wit. Emer set him challenges, demanding he prove himself through deeds worthy of her hand. Forgall, opposed to the match, travelled to Emain Macha in disguise and suggested Cú Chulainn train under the warrior-woman Scáthach in Alba, hoping the journey would kill him. Instead, Cú Chulainn returned more formidable than before. He leaped the walls of Forgall's fortress, slew the defenders, and carried Emer away. Forgall fell from his own ramparts to his death in the pursuit.

The Rivalry with Fand

Emer's marriage was tested when the Otherworld woman Fand, estranged from her husband Manannán mac Lir, summoned Cú Chulainn to be her champion and lover. He went to the Otherworld and stayed with Fand for a month while Emer waited. When he did not return, Emer came to the trysting place with fifty women armed with knives, intending to kill Fand. The two women confronted each other, and each recognised the depth of the other's love. Fand yielded, telling Emer she was a worthy woman, and Emer answered that Cú Chulainn would have chosen Fand had she stayed. Manannán then appeared to reclaim his wife, shaking his cloak of forgetfulness between Cú Chulainn and Fand so they would never meet again, and the druids gave all three a drink to erase the memory of the affair.

The Death of Cú Chulainn

When Cú Chulainn's enemies conspired to bring him to his final battle, Emer tried to prevent his going. She recognised the omens: his geasa breaking one by one, phantom women washing bloodied garments at the ford. She begged him not to ride out, but his honour would not permit retreat. After Cú Chulainn died tied to a standing stone, Emer came to where his body was brought. She washed his wounds, sang his lament, and according to one tradition died beside him, her grief too great to survive.